Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 January 2007 19:45:20
Daughter asked me some time ago if she could go out for a day with me; later, she kindly decided that son could come along as well. So, this was the day.
We used the park-and-ride to get into Edinburgh - which meant a short train journey - much to son's liking. Waverley Station is being refurbished - which actually meant that this particular service, from newCraighall, was improved - instead of being the tail end of a run to and from Dunblane, it was a shuttle service between newCraighall and Edinburgh - like sane and sensible park-and-rides elsewhere in the known universe.
The Museum of Scotland is about a 15 minute walk from the station - an eventful walk, which started with climbing rather too many steps by the old Scotsman building (now a hotel), then walking partway up the Royal Mile (we visited a shop which specialised in wargaming figures, and had a nice chat with someone); we were accosted by a man who claimed to be a monk, and wanted money (I refused even to give him 1 penny), and he wanted us to call out 'gouranga', and be happy; then down George IV Bridge, where we did give some money to a street musician, who thanked us, and called son and daughter a prince and princess; then finally into the entrance to the rather attractive new extension to the Museum of Scotland.
I had rather looked forward to exploring the new part of the museum (until to-day, I thought that it was actually a separate museum), but we needed to find somewhere to eat, which turned out to be Soupson, which is at the back of the original building, where we consumed an excellent lunch, but which meant that we found all sorts of things to see in the old part of the museum. No complaints - we enjoyed ourselves, fairly constructively, only losing son twice - and we timed our journey back to the station quite nicely, just catching a train to newCraighall, where we picked up the car to drive home.
I'm dreading to-morrow - work - but needs must, I suppose.